Paramedics brave hurricane to save boy
Crew of 4 made decision to put their lives on the line
DELRAY BEACH — Without power and stuck in the middle of a hurricane, Stacy Alcenard-Macer’s 1-year-old son had no way to take the medicine he needed to breathe clearly — until the Delray Beach Fire Department came to his rescue.
Alcenard-Macer lost power the morning of Sept. 10 as the outer bands of Hurricane Irma swirled over Palm Beach County.
Her son Jayson is asthmatic. He’d been in and out of the hospital for the past two months and came down with a cold Thursday before the storm.
Jayson needed medication every four hours to help clear his lungs so he could breathe, Alcenard-Macer said.
But without electricity to power the breathing machine that delivers his medicine, he could have asphyxiated, she said.
By noon, Jayson’s temperature was rising. He began to sweat, but remained unnaturally calm.
“It was to the point where he was really trying to concentrate his breathing,” Alcenard-Macer said. “Once he exhaled, you cold hear that crackling noise, like the mucous build-up.”
Alcenard-Macer weighed her options. Should she drive her son to a hospital in the middle of a hurricane?
Instead, she reached out to Delray Beach police through Facebook, where spokeswoman Dani Moschella put her in contact with Fire Rescue. Moschella noted that ordinarily social media is not monitored around the clock and it’s better for